Lawmakers call for IVAS procurement cuts, US Army weighing implications
11 March 2022
by Ashley Roque
US Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division use an IVAS prototype during a trench clearing exercise in October 2020 at Fort Pickett in Virginia. In 2021 the service decided to delay fielding the technology and is working on improvements in anticipation of getting it into the field later in 2022. (US Army )
US Army acquisition officials are examining the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2022 omnibus spending bill to determine how Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) procurement cuts and proposed restrictions will affect programme plans, according to the service's Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, Doug Bush.
Congress has unveiled the omnibus spending bill that provides USD728.5 billion in discretionary defence spending this year, and as of 10 March, the House and Senate had the legislation, and it will be sent to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature.
Appropriators that drafted the compromise bill said they will cut USD394 million from the army's USD854 million IVAS procurement request, and the accompanying report explains that “developmental challenges and increased testing requirements” prompted them to transfer USD55 million from the ‘other procurement' account over to the IVAS research, development, test, and evaluation account.
UAE inaugurates GlobalEye early warning aircraft
25 April 2024
by Jeremy Binnie
The UAE's fourth Saab GlobalEye was delivered on 18 April. (Ministry of Defence of the United Arab Emirates)
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on 24 April that a reception ceremony for an early warning aircraft had been held at Al-Dhafra Air Base.
It cited Major General Ibrahim Nasser al-Alawi, the commander of the Air Force and Air Defence (AFAD), as saying the aircraft was a “qualitative addition” that will help protect the country's strategic interests.
The MoD released a video showing a Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft without AFAD markings being escorted by F-16 and Mirage 2000-9 fighters before landing at Al-Dhafra, as well as personnel with 8th Aviation Wing badges working at a ground station.
Saab confirmed on the following day that it delivered the fourth of five GlobalEyes ordered by the UAE on 18 April.
Lockheed Martin to ramp up UK Sniper production
24 April 2024
by Gerrard Cowan
Seen being carried by a US Air Force F-16, the Sniper ATP is built in Florida in the US and Bedfordshire in the UK. Lockheed Martin is now ramping up UK component production to meet increased customer demand. (Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin is building a new production line for AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) components at its Ampthill, Bedfordshire site in the UK, seeking to meet anticipated demand from NATO allies and other customers for the system, the company has told Janes .
The UK-based work on Sniper supports the manufacturing activities at Ocala, Florida. This work has been expanded with a new production line at Ampthill that will focus on producing cabling to integrate the system into aircraft.
Stacy Kubicek, Lockheed Martin's vice-president and general manager – sensors and global sustainment, said the fresh investment is part of a wider strategy at Lockheed Martin. She placed it into the context of a shifting outlook among customers.
Germany orders simulators for Puma IFVs
19 April 2024
by Olivia Savage
The Bundeswehr has ordered 258 sets of AGDUS systems for its Puma IFVs following successful integration tests. (PSM GmbH)
The Bundeswehr is receiving new training simulators for its Puma infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs).
In total, 258 sets of Training Device, Duel Simulator (Ausbildungsgerät Duellsimulator: AGDUS) systems are being delivered for the Puma IFVs by the end of 2026, the Bundeswehr announced on 15 April.
The EUR109 million (USD116 million) contract will be financed from the EUR100 billion Bundeswehr special fund.
A Rheinmetall/Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) consortium received an order from the Bundeswehr in December 2019 valued at EUR54 million for the provision of six AGDUS systems for integration tests on the Puma. Full-scale serial production of AGDUS would then begin once testing was complete, with up to 252 Puma IFVs being equipped with the systems for EUR88 million.
A Rheinmetall spokesperson confirmed to Janes that the company, along with KMW+Nexter Defense Systems (KNDS) Germany, are supplying the new AGDUS simulators to the Bundeswehr and that full-scale production has now officially begun.
US Army acquisition officials are examining the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2022 omnibus spending bill...
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